- Friday, May 03, 2024
Top business entities and leaders, including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Lakshmi Mittal unveiled plans to contribute to Gujarat’s economic landscape over the next few years.
By: Shubham Ghosh
A FLURRY of commitments for investments in various sectors marked the inaugural day of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Wednesday (10). The business meet was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi and attended by dignitaries from more than 130 countries.
Here are some top announcements made at the summit about investments in the state:
Semiconductor fab by Tata Group
Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran unveiled plans at the summit to set up a large semiconductor fabrication facility (fab) in Dholera in Ahmedabad district of southern Gujarat. Work for the facility is expected to begin in 2024. The conglomerate is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations for the plant, marking a key step towards manufacturing of chips, a sector that the Narendra Modi government has intensely pursued.
Major investment by Adani Group
Gautam Adani, India’s second richest man and chairman of the Adani Group, pledged to invest Rs 2 trillion (19 billion) in Gujarat over the next five years. He also said that Rs 55,000 crore (£5.2 billion) will be invested till 2025. The focus will be on green energy projects and the investments are likely to generate 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. The conglomerate is also developing the “world’s largest green energy park” in Khavda in Gujarat’s Kutch region.
New plant by Maruti Suzuki
India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki announced at the summit plans to invest Rs 350 billion in the state. The investment includes setting up a second manufacturing facility in the state as the company aims to ramp up its annual production to more than four million units by 2030-31, Suzuki Motor Corporation president Toshihiro Suzuki said at the summit. The plan also features a new production line at the existing facility, raising its annual production capacity to two million vehicles.
Simmtech’s colocation investment with Micron
Jeffery Chun, CEO of Simmtech, a South Korea-based company which manufactures high-layer printed circuit boards for semiconductors, said they are eager to make a colocation investment to support Micron’s operations in Gujarat.
Read: Lord Tariq Ahmad hails Modi at Vibrant Gujarat summit
Addressing the summit, he said Simmtech is looking to make investments in the state with the support of the federal and state governments to create thousands of employment opportunities. Last year, the US-based Micron Technology had revealed its plan to set up a $2.75-billion plant in Sanand near Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The plant will receive subsidies from both the federal and state governments.
India-UAE memorandums of understanding
India and the UAE, who have seen a fast deepening of ties over the last few years under Modi, saw inking of several memorandums of understanding ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat summit, covering areas such as renewable energy, food park and healthcare projects. The agreements aim to strengthen cooperation in various sectors between the two Asian economies. A bilateral meeting was held between PM Modi and the president of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was the chief guest at the summit, in Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Tuesday (9).
Mukesh Ambani’s commitments
Reliance chairman and richest Indian Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday outlined five key commitments at the summit that aim to make Gujarat a global leader. According to a report by the Economic Times, the commitments involve leading the western state towards green growth, using 5G and artificial intelligence technologies, creation of jobs and promoting an inclusive economic development.
Read: Goal is to make India a developed nation by 2047: Modi
Ambani announced the start of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Complex in Jamnagar in Gujarat, aiming to make it functional by the end of 2024. According to him, it may generate eco-friendly jobs and make Gujarat a key exporter of environment friendly goods. Ambani’s commitments also included a pledge to make Gujarat a leader in new materials and circular economy, besides developing infrastructure in areas such as education and sports.
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s Integrated Steel Plant in Hazira
The plant of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India in Hazira near Surat in Gujarat will become one of the world’s biggest steel-manufacturing units with a capacity of 24 million tonnes in 2029, the company’s executive chairman Lakshmi Mittal said at the Vibrant Gujarat summit. “Gujarat welcomed ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel four years ago, and in 2021, the Prime Minister and Chief Minister performed the ‘bhumi pujan’ of our Hazira Expansion Project. I am proud to say that this expansion project is progressing at a very fast pace, and phase 1 is set to be commissioned by 2026,” Mittal said.
DP World’s container terminal plan
UAE-based global logistics company DP World will establish a container terminal in Gujarat and focus on more investments in India, its chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem announced at the Vibrant Gujarat summit on Wednesday. Addressing the event, he said DP World will continue to extend support to the Indian logistics sector and support manufacturing industries in both Gujarat and other parts of India to make its goods globally competitive and accessible. Bin Sulayem said DP World kicked off its operations in Gujarat in 2003 by setting up the Mundra International Container terminal. “We have invested in the state of Gujarat as well in other state in India, to the tune of USD 2.5 billion…,” he said.
Nvidia’s AI data centre in GIFT City
US computing major Nvidia on Wednesday said its partner Yotta is set to commission an “artificial intelligence data centre” in the GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, before the end of March. Speaking at the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, Shankar Trivedi, senior vice president at Nvidia Global Field Operations, said the company is partnering with Tata Group and Reliance Industries for setting up data centres. The data centre being set up by Yotta, a Hiranandani Group company, will go live before March, he said. “I’m very happy to inform you that our partner Yotta is setting up a state of the art AI data centre here in GIFT city and it will be available and go live before the end of March,” Trivedi said.
Paytm to make global financial ecosystem
One97 Communications, owner of financial technology company Paytm on Wednesday revealed its plan to invest Rs 100 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to set up a global financial ecosystem. This announcement came ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024. The company said the investment would be made over a period of time and after getting the necessary approvals. “The strategic investment in GIFT City represents a pivotal step towards building an Artificial Intelligence-driven cross-border remittance and payments technology landscape, presenting global opportunities. This will enable us to deliver fast, reliable, and cost-effective remittance solutions, reducing friction, at a global scale,” said Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Shama, according to Business Today.
